Hosting, explained
Website hosting explained without the unnecessary technical waffle.
Hosting is the infrastructure that keeps your website available online — the storage and server that hold your site's files and hand them to a visitor's browser whenever someone types your address or clicks a link.
Three different things
Domain, hosting and website aren't the same thing.
People often use these words interchangeably, which is where confusion starts. Think of the domain as your business's address, hosting as the building the address points to, and the website as what's actually inside that building.
| Part | What it actually is |
|---|---|
| Domain | The name people type or click — like yourbusiness.co.uk. It's a registration, renewed yearly, that points visitors towards your website. |
| Hosting | The infrastructure that stores your website's files and serves them to a visitor's browser whenever someone visits. Without it, the domain has nowhere to point. |
| Website | The actual pages, design, content and functionality — the thing people see and use once hosting has delivered it to them. |
Cheap vs managed
Cheap hosting and managed care aren't the same cost.
The raw server and storage cost behind a website is genuinely cheap — that's why you'll see hosting advertised for a few pounds a month. What that price rarely covers is the service around it: someone checking the site is actually up, keeping the SSL certificate valid, applying updates, watching for problems, and being available when something needs fixing.
Managed care is that service layer. It may include setup, monitoring, SSL, support, technical checks and minor updates — the ongoing attention that keeps a site reliable, rather than just switched on.
£49/month
What our Managed Hosting & Care includes.
- Managed website hosting
- SSL and security
- Domain connection and technical support
- Routine technical checks
- Website availability checks
- General website support
- Up to 30 minutes a month of minor text or image changes
Full package detail, alongside our website build packages, is on the pricing page.
Moving on
Can I move hosts?
Our client project terms set this out directly. Managed Hosting & Care runs month to month with thirty days' notice on either side. If it's cancelled, you remain the owner of your website and content, and we provide an export of the site plus reasonable assistance to migrate it to a provider of your choice. Time spent on migration beyond a reasonable handover may be chargeable.
For anything about a move that isn't covered here, the terms page is the place to check — we'd rather point you there than guess.
Wondering who actually owns the site once it's built? See who owns my website. For a wider view of ongoing costs, see website maintenance cost UK.
Before you ask
Hosting questions, answered plainly.
Want to see it laid out against our build packages? View pricing.
Next step
Not sure whether your site is properly looked after?
Ask us what's actually covered.
We'll tell you plainly what your current hosting does and doesn't include, and what Managed Hosting & Care would add.